Three hospitals in Belgium have developed an artificial intelligence application designed to help patients understand their medical reports. The hospitals involved are Hospital Group ZAS in Antwerp, AZ Maria Midelares in Ghent and UZ Brussels.
The initiative addresses the long-standing problem of patients routinely receiving medical reports and discharge letters written in languages that are difficult or impossible to understand. The new application addresses this issue by creating a jargon-free version of each document. When a patient receives a report, they are provided with both the standard version and an AI-generated plain language equivalent version.
The benefits are quite large. Patients understand their health status more clearly, can ask more targeted questions during consultations, and demonstrate better adherence to treatment. There are also privacy benefits. Patients no longer need to share sensitive medical information with commercial platforms such as ChatGPT.
Not a replacement
Patients, and their families and carers if they wish, can access the plain text version through the government’s health portal or patient portal. The short version has not been reviewed by a physician and is intended to supplement, not replace, the original report or direct communication with a physician.
So far, the application has been tested only by ZAS patients with rheumatism and kidney disease, and the group produces around 40,000 medical reports a year. In the first phase, the application will be available in Dutch, French and English, with additional languages and medical specialties to be added. This application was developed with the support of the Commonwealth Health Service.
#Flanders News Service | © Berga Photo Dirk Waem
Related news
